Suigetsu Hōzuki
Suigetsu Hōzuk'i (鬼灯水月, ''Hōzuki Suigetsu) is from Kirigakure's Hōzuki Clan. Heralded as the '''Second Coming of the Demon (鬼人の再来, Kijin no Sairai), Suigetsu dreams of gathering all the swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. This dream was cut short when he was captured by Orochimaru, but by joining forces with Sasuke Uchiha he finds an opportunity to resume its pursuit. Background Suigetsu was born in Kirigakure and was reputed alongside his brother, Mangetsu, to be the incarnation of the demon Zabuza Momochi. He and Mangetsu aspired to inherit the title of Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. This acted as their motivation to finish cruel missions day by day. While Mangetsu eventually became one of the seven, Suigetsu's motivation was shattered with the premature death of his brother, and he changed his ambition to "collecting all of the swords", in order to retrieve all seven original blades that have been passed down by the swordsmen, so that he could rebuild the group and become its leader. With the humiliation of being captured and experimented on by Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, his ambition was put on hold. Through these experiments, Kabuto at least, was able to replicate Suigetsu's unique secret ability to liquefy himself at will. At some point in the past, he had to fight with Jūgo. In the anime, about two years after Sasuke joined Orochimaru, the young Uchiha delivered a vial for research on Suigetsu. Upon seeing the young Uchiha, Suigetsu asked Sasuke to free him, who simply said he had to prove his strength. As the medical-nin came in to begin their tests, Suigutesu noticed one of them was in a daze (unaware he was being controlled by Sasuke's Sharingan). The medical-nin then opened Suigetsu's chamber, allowing him to break free from the base. Soon afterwards, he was pursued by Sasuke and Karin. Using his various water abilities, he was able to fend off the duo. Taking Sasuke's sword and delighting in its design, he attacked Karin, only to be caught off guard and subdued by her chakra chain, allowing Karin to take him back to the base. Personality Suigetsu appears to be indifferent, caring only for a few things around him. He spends a considerable amount of time mocking and/or being beaten up by Karin. Despite showing initial dislike towards his team-mates, Suigetsu has grown fond of them, and was willing to risk his own life to protect them against the Eight-Tails, showing care for his team-mates. Kisame Hoshigaki claims that Suigetsu is a prodigy in the art of murder, as he has a habit of chopping off his victim's limbs before beheading them. Suigetsu, despite addressing him with the honourific term "senpai", wants to defeat him and take his sword, noting to Sasuke that he will one day serve him as "shark fin soup" (a reference to Kisame's shark-like appearance) after Sasuke suggested that he was not yet strong enough to defeat Kisame, showing it to be a sign of sarcasm rather than respect for Kisame. As a prodigy at the art of murder, Suigetsu has a certain love for killing, but he refrains from doing so at Sasuke's request. However, there are several occasions where he has killed people when he believed Sasuke wouldn't notice. Suigetsu has been shown to have thoughts such as "just this once" and "he'll forgive me". However, he was noticeably upset that Sasuke killed several samurai during the attack on the Kage Summit, pointing out how many times Sasuke had told him not to kill anyone, his anger may have had more to do with Sasuke being a hypocrite than the samurai's deaths. He was described to have a belligerent personality, witnessed through his hostile and aggressive attitude most times. Suigetsu, despite being hasty in anger, has shown moments of keenness and a calm attitude, such as discerning Killer B's ability as a swordsman, as Suigetsu is one himself. Other moments were when he realised Sasuke used a space-time ninjutsu with Manda to escape Deidara's blast. He was also able to predict Killer B's attack on Sasuke, which would have been fatal if Suigetsu had not stepped in to block the blow. Suigetsu has a passion for collecting exotic swords: he made it his goal to collect all the swords from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He took Zabuza Momochi's Kubikiribōchō and joined Hebi only to take Kisame Hoshigaki's Samehada. He even went into great detail to explain about the seven swords to Jūgo, with a passionate tone to his storytelling. He also cares a great deal for his swords, shown when he went back to retrieve his Kubikiribōchō after losing it in the fight against Killer B. However, his passion doesn't seem to be entirely limited to the seven blades, as he also expressed interest in Darui's sword. His ultimate goal however, is to collect the seven blades, so he can reform the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and become their leader. Along with this passion for collecting swords, Suigetsu is very mischievous and as such, takes great joy in foiling Karin's plans to be alone with Sasuke and has stated that it is his second favourite thing to do. By his own admission, Suigetsu has an impulse to cut things up, be it a person or relationships, as he does with Sasuke and Karin. Suigetsu apparently also likes animals somewhat seen from his attempt to play with the talking ninja cats from the abandoned Uchiha warehouse at one point. He also lectured Sasuke on treating animals better after Sasuke used Manda to shield himself from Deidara's suicide technique, which resulted in Manda's death. Suigetsu also has what seems to be a chronic fear of Orochimaru, which is to be expected due to the latter imprisoning and experimenting on him. This fear was witnessed when Sasuke declared that he would revive Orochimaru and Suigetsu's ensuing attempt to dissuade him from doing so. When Orochimaru was revived, Suigetsu even refused to stay on the same side of the cave with him, retreating to opposite ends depending on where Orochimaru went. On the other hand while always being wary of Orochimaru and his intentions, Suigetsu willingly offered to help his former jailer attack Konoha and then later even referred to Orochimaru using honourific while obeying his orders. While showing courage against such fearsome opponents like Killer B, even taking a tailed beast ball for his comrades, Suigetsu also has a cowardly side at times. Despite his confidence (if not arrogance), he would show a rather cowardly side when someone of a clearly higher calibre directs their killing intent at him, as he hid behind Orochimaru in fear during an exchange between Tobirama and Hashirama Senju. He also seems to retain a sarcastic sense of humour even in serious situations, this trait being exemplified when, as Kabuto was healing Sasuke, he asked Kabuto if he was trying to absorb Sasuke, and if he wanted to be 'Kabuke' or 'Sasuto'. Appearance Suigetsu is a lean-built young man of average height, straight white hair with a light-blue tint to it in the anime, almond shaped purple eyes, and like most of the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he has pointed teeth — one of which sticks out even when his mouth is closed. He wears a purple, sleeveless shirt with blue pants, sandals and a belt around his waist with water bottles attached to it. He also wears another belt strapped to his chest which he uses to carry the Kubikiribōchō. Due to his special body, Suigetsu is able to alter his form at will, usually to aid in his techniques and when rendered unconscious, he is reduced to a jelly-like state. Whenever he is seen recovering from these unconscious states he is placed in a large tank of water and resembles a fish-like being. Years later, Suigetsu opted to wear a dark, high-collared button down attire which had light-coloured, upturned sleeves. He wore two belts around his waist, a simple one and another larger one with two pouches — one at each side. Abilities Suigetsu is a capable fighter, or at least very confident in his abilities, since he has threatened Sasuke on more than one occasion and was capable of stopping Jūgo's rampage with little difficulty. Kisame has noted him to be a child prodigy in the art of murder, and that he is practically the reincarnation of Zabuza. Suigetsu was even shown able to briefly go up against Killer B, a perfect jinchūriki, while in his Tailed Beast Mode. In the anime, Suigetsu also demonstrated capable taijutsu skill, being able to fight off hundreds of foes unarmed. Ninjutsu Hōzuki Clan Techniques and Nature Transformation As a member of the Hōzuki clan, Suigetsu is well versed in the clan's secret Water Release technique to transform his body into a liquid form, and to return to his solid bodily form at will. This ability also allows him to change his body shape, giving him the ability to increase the size of his limbs, thus proportionally increasing his strength if necessary. It also makes striking him somewhat difficult; since he is made of liquid, any regular strike will go right through his watery form. When struck, part of the water he turns into can also split from his body, and be manipulated, for example, making a water blob around one's head to drown them. As his body is water, he is also capable of merging with already existing water to increase his attack range, as seen when he fought against Killer B, and utilise it for large scale Water Release techniques. When he passes out he enters a jelly-like state, as seen in the battle against Killer B. Also he can fire compressed, highly pressurised water bullets from the tips of his index fingers, that can cause great damage, able to fire it from both hands. A supplementary usage of his techniques is the ability to gather information via water such as rain, seen when he learned about the Fourth Shinobi World War after his imprisonment. In the anime, Suigetsu is also shown capable of creating clones made of water. Suigetsu is seen carrying water bottles with him, as he frequently needs to consume water in order to stay hydrated. Due to his water-like body, he exhibits weakness against lightning-based techniques, as exhibited in his defence of Sasuke against Killer B's chakra-charged strike. Suigetsu is also capable of using Wind Release. Kenjutsu From his training days with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Suigetsu is quite adept at wielding Zabuza Momochi's Kubikiribōchō. However, he lacks the high degree of physical strength Zabuza had, as carrying the sword around for long distances seems to tire him out. However, he partially makes up for this with his Hydrification Technique, which allows him to expand the muscles in his arms to help him wield such a heavy weapon with more ease. In addition to his own abilities, Suigetsu also has a good perception for swordsmanship skills, as he saw Killer B was a skilled swordsman almost instantly after the fight began.Suigetsu also seems to be very fast witnessed when he got away from the Fourth Raikage's assault against Jūgo and almost got C from behind unexpectedly until Darui stopped Suigetsu from landing his assault and he was fast enough to intercept Killer B's attack on Sasuke. He is also skilled as he was able to clash toe-to-toe with a powerful opponent like Darui even with the Kubikiribōchō broken in half. New Era (Plot) Naruto Gaiden: The Road Illuminated by the Full Moon Years later, he assisted Orochimaru in the experiment that resulted in Mitsuki. After five failed attempts to bring out Mitsuki's independence, Suigetsu feigned an attack on him, testing to make sure that the boy's ninja skills remained intact after having his memories erased so many times. After satisfied that Mitsuki was fine, he brought the boy to Orochimaru for a final test disguised as a mission. Sarada Uchiha Arc Fifteen years after the war, when Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha and Chōchō Akimichi came to learn about Shin Uchiha, they were greeted by Suigetsu and Jūgo. The group then followed Orochimaru into the depths of the hideout to discuss the situation. Sarada, however, asked Suigetsu about Karin's whereabouts to which he replied that Karin was in a different hideout. Suigetsu, much to his shock, found it hard to believe when Sarada discussed with him about the possibility that Karin was her biological mother; this made Suigetsu recall Karin's previous intimate approach she tried to make with Sasuke in the past. Sarada requested for his assistance in checking whether Karin was her birth mother or not. Suigetsu found a strand of Karin's DNA in her desk (not knowing that it was Sarada's umbilical cord), and used it to run a test with that of Sarada's, which revealed a perfect match; Suigetsu also commented about the similar glasses between Sarada and Karin. Feeling awkward, Suigetsu left, but not before Naruto, who was listening to their conversation, scolded him for bringing this situation up for the young Uchiha, to which he then claimed that it wasn't his fault but Sasuke's. Later, Suigetsu joined Orochimaru in aiding Sasuke to find Shin. Sasuke then activated his Rinnegan and prepared to go in his Susanoo. Some time after Shin's defeat, Karin scolded Suigetsu for touching her belongings, explaining to him that he had used Sakura and Sarada's umbilical cord in the DNA test. She also explained that she personally delivered Sarada, confirming that Sakura was Sarada's biological mother. Karin then demanded for Suigetsu to apologise to Sarada for his mistake and ordered him to send Sarada a new pair of glasses. Trivia * The name "Suigetsu" literally means "water moon" (水月), which is a poetic term for the moon reflecting on the surface of the water. As an extension of this, the word can also refer to something illusory, without true substance; perhaps referring to Suigetsu's ability to turn his body into water. His family name "Hōzuki" means "demon lantern" (鬼灯), which is the Japanese word for the Chinese Lantern, a plant bearing fruit which resemble Chinese paper lanterns; like all members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his surname is derived from a type of produce. ** The full phrase of which Suigetsu's name comes is Kyōka Suigetsu (鏡花水月, Literally meaning: mirror flower water moon), meaning the moon reflected in water and a flower in a mirror are things that can be seen but not held; this is a Chinese proverb for seeing and desiring something that is a dream that cannot be easily grasped in hand, teaching people about temptations. Quotes * (To Sasuke) "You really do talk like you're in charge… Let's make our relationship extremely clear, shall we? Just because you defeated Orochimaru, doesn't put you in charge here… Everyone was after him, someone would have taken him out sooner or later… Orochimaru liked you, otherwise you'd be locked up, not by his side. You simply had more chances to kill him than the rest of us." * (After finding the Kubikiribōchō) "I'm amazed it's somewhere like this… Zabuza, this is mine now. It's heavy… the great beheading sword of the the demon Zabuza of Kirigakure!" * (To his team) "Aren't you guys tired? Let's take a break." * (To himself) "I can't believe I'd be protecting their hides this often!" * (To Jūgo about Sasuke and Karin) "Kukuh! Ya know, when those two're together, I can't help but want to cut them apart…! It's something like… Being driven by this urge to want to cut things in two, right… That's me!!" (「ククッ!くっつきそうなあいつらの間をぶった切るのがたまんなくてさァ…!なんかこう…全てのものをぶった切って二つにしたい衝動にかられるんだよね…ボクって!!」, "Kukuh! Kuttsuki sō na aitsura no aida o buttagiru no ga tamannakute saa…! Nanka kō… Subete no mono o buttagitte futatsu ni shitai shōdō ni karareru nda yo ne… Boku tte!!") Category:Characters Category:Male